Computers and networks of computers, such as local area networks (LAN) and wide area networks (WAN), are used by many businesses and other organizations to enable employees and other authorized users to access information, create and edit files, and communicate with one another, such as by e-mail, among other uses. Often, such networks are connected or are capable of being connected to computers that are not part of the network, such as by modem or via the Internet. In such cases, the network becomes vulnerable to attacks by unauthorized users, such as so-called computer “hackers”, who may be able to gain unauthorized access to files stored on network computers by using ports or connections provided to connect that computer to computers outside of the network.
One known technique for foiling an attacker seeking to gain unauthorized access to a computer or computer network is a so-called “honey pot.” A honey pot, in computer security parlance, is a computer system containing a set of files that are designed to lure a computer hacker or other attacker to access the files, such as by making it seem like the files are particularly important or interesting. Since the honey pot files are typically not actually working files, any activity in the honey pot files is suspicious and an attempt is made to identify and locate any user who accesses or attempts to access the files.
A second known approach is to provide a deception server. A deception server contains false data. A router or firewall is configured to route suspected attackers to the deception server instead of permitting the suspected attacker to access the real computer system or network.
An improved system and method for deception and monitoring of attackers is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/615,967, referenced above.
However, absolute security is impractical, if not impossible, and the level of security implemented is based on a combination of risk analysis and cost-benefit analysis. New attacks are routinely discovered, and some of these may render a previous analysis and choice obsolete, often without the system administrator being aware of the change. Further, users of a computer system may inadvertently or deliberately introduce vulnerabilities. It is therefore essential to be prepared for successful attacks.
Identification and authentication systems, active network components such as firewalls, and intrusion detection systems are all examples of real-time computer security systems. Another class of systems includes forensic tools, which are used by a computer security expert to analyze what has happened on a compromised computer after a successful attack and may also be used to detect intrusions. Most of these tools, however, are of very limited use to most computer system administrators, who typically lack the knowledge to make effective use of such tools; i.e. knowing when to use them, how to operate them, and how to interpret the data produced.
The beginning of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSes) for computer security is widely dated to a 1980 report by James P. Anderson entitled “Computer Security Threat Monitoring and Surveillance.” An excellent summary of issues, trends, and systems can be found in the book “Intrusion Detection” by Rebecca Bace.
IDSes are categorized along three basic dimensions. The first dimension is the data sources used. Network-based IDSes capture packets from the network and examine the contents and the “envelope” for evidence that an attack is underway (packet capture is the network-equivalent of keystroke logging). Host-based IDSes examine information available within the host, and traditionally focus on one or more log files. On most platforms, the normal logging facilities do not provide either the quantity nor quality of information needed by the IDS, so they usually depend upon extensions, such as custom modifications to the operating system or the installation of optional packages such as audit logging for a TCSEC (Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria) C2 rating. An example of such a package is Sun's BSM (Basic Security Module) package. There are also hybrid systems.
The second dimension is the technology used: rule-based, statistical, or hybrid. “Signature-matching” IDSes are a major subgroup of rule-based IDSes that trade off having very limited rule systems against the ability to provide real-time monitoring of larger volumes of traffic. Statistical systems use a variety of approaches, from user modeling to knowledge discovery. An example of an IDS that is a hybrid network-based and host-based system as well as combining a rule-based and statistical approach is EMERALD, whose predecessors were IDES and NIDES.
The third dimension is real-time or after-the-fact. All conventional IDSes fall into the real-time category: their intention is to alert the operator to an attack so that he can respond in time to avert damage. However, the speed with which attacks are currently executed rarely allow time for any meaningful response from these systems. The after-the-fact category is dominated by forensic tools: utilities designed to help a computer security expert analyze what happened on a compromised host by extracting data that has been established as relevant to known attacks. The exception to this is the DERBI project (Diagnosis, Explanation and Recovery from Break-Ins), which experimented with the feasibility of after-the-fact detection of intrusions on hosts with no special data collection enabled. The DERBI project developed a loosely coupled system that processed data for a single known simulated host in an experimental testbed. The existing systems, however, have many limitations: they fail to utilize many useful sources of data, they produce large amounts of information that are difficult for a human to analyze in a timely fashion, they are complex and difficult to use, and they are often designed for system administration rather than attack diagnosis.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved system and method for detecting computer instructions, as will be described below with reference to the drawings.